Welcome to Haki Yetu. Change starts with you! Join us today!

 Born in the DR Congo, I have watched as my father and sister died mysteriously, just days after standing up to the dictatorial government who had instigated the ongoing Civil War, which would claim the lives of millions of Congolese. In 1998, at the beginning of the Civil War, and after watching the countless deaths and destruction of many innocent lives, I was moved to go preach on National TV (RTNC) . 

During the live evening news, I went to deliver a message about national unity and reconciliation, as a way to bring peace and build consensus among the various opposing groups, destroying the stability of the country. Although I was expressing my right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes freedom to receive and impart information and ideas through any media, I ended up being arrested during the news hour, as thousands of viewers watched horrendously how I was being beaten and tortured during my arrest. 

The cruel and inhuman treatment which I received as I desperately clang to my right to life, from one death row to another, watching the execution of my fellow inmates, are simply indescribable, for no human being should be subjected to such degrading punishment. Although Congolese law prohibits arbitrary arrests and detentions, government security forces routinely arbitrarily arrested and detained persons. I was kept for several months without my family knowing about my whereabouts, in unsafe and unsanitary prison conditions. I was tortured many times during my stay at various prison cells with unusual conditions of confinement, detained for prolonged times without ever been charged of any crime, denying me of my right to be recognized before the law. I was guilty with no possibility of ever being proven innocent. With the help of international human rights organizations such as the Red Cross International, I was able to receive medical care for my wounds after several months of detention. I was then allowed a public trial where I was finally acquitted for lack of evidence and false imprisonment.

Upon my release, after having miraculously escaped execution, I vowed to defend the rights of the oppressed and change the horrific and inhumane conditions of those who were still detained in DR Congo prisons and jails, and denied of their rights as human beings.In New York City, I came across many immigrants with difficulties accessing services as a result of language and cultural barriers. In cases where they received services, they knew very little about their own rights and therefore, could not articulate or advocate for these rights when they were infringed upon. 

Along with other activists, Haki Yetu was created to give a voice to the voiceless, provide needed services while giving people the tools to understand and advocate for their own rights. By empowering one individual, we believe we can bring change and transformation, while replicating leaders in disenfranchised and marginalized communities. Whether it is in combating poverty among low income communities, fighting to preserve healthy families, ensuring that individuals in need receive crucial services, promoting the rights of the disabled or advocating for women’s rights, Haki Yetu remains dedicated to the advancement of human rights. It is our hope that the principle that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights shall be held to the highest standards and that societies will work to ensure these rights are not being infringed upon. As we continue the work of advocating for equality and justice, I strongly urge you to join our cause of defending the rights of the oppressed and marginalized, for the violation of rights of one individual in our community, violates the rights of all of us. 

Thus, leaving behind race, creed, religion, social, economic and political ideologies, let us join to promote our “Haki Yetu” (Our Rights). Once we understand our rights, we can build ourselves as individuals, we can build our communities, we can build our countries, and we can build the world.  

As a co-founder of the organization, Barbara has served as Haki Yetu's acting executive director since its inception and has been the life and breath behind our human rights initiatives, working tirelessly to advocate for the needs of immigrants and refugees.